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Oct 30, 2012

Eid-ul-Azha, one of the God-blessed days of sacrifices
for Moslems has always been my red-letter day. But this Eid was something different.I woke up quite earlier to crack
my desperation for a joyous day ahead.

“This is the day of Joy.This is the day of Felicitations.This is the day of forgiveness.This is the day of Eid”, heralded my facebook status soon after the rooster’s crowing
at the break of dawn.

After munching some overpriced bakery and
confectionary items, I dressed up for the Eid prayers to attest my presence in
the colossal congressional. The scene was no different from the previous Eids
in Kashmir. But some events marked this Eid as something new, trendy and
changing.

There were countless people thronging the ground
turned Eid Gah. But no xyz leader was visible at the sermon seat and no
rabble-rousing speech heard. It seemed like Kashmir Dispute was no more
disputed as it always had been on every Eid for the xyz leaders. Also “imported
beggars” with newly devised strategies multiplied along the length and
breadth.

The bazaars were all packed with kids wearing brand
new apparels imitating their pet heroes or heroines whatsoever. Young girls carrying
shiny purses looked hilarious with their bodies flooded with bangles, earrings
and other flashy trinkets. The boys on the other hand presented their naive
bully nature with an Ak47 in hand while pockets filled with other ammunition.
Ha-ha...needless to mention the plaything.

Well Eid-ul-Adha is mainly pivoted around the
importance of sacrifice but times have fatally changed and hence did the cult
of sacrifices. Now people outsource the job considering it tedious or
unfeasible. New professionals are cropping up who are just a phone call away
and do everything for you, right from slaughtering to distribution. No wonder in
this tech-savvy world.

Times are changing and we can’t expect people stagnant
with one culture. Eidi, the monetary gift given to the children on Eid
has become more like a rigid formality. I don’t know how and when Eidi
turned monetary but it has been there even before I was born. I am sure the
concept had been started with a prosperous intention but now it has become more
like a give and take system… You scratch my back and I will scratch yours. This
is not any exchange of gifts and joys but a part of a plagued society that only
teaches us how the goddamn money flows.

As I finished my Eid prayers, I visited my aunt in the
old Srinagar city. Visiting downtown is always a delight for an art-loving guy
like me. The intricate nostalgic streets and old archaic muddy houses always
won my heart. But this time I was totally dumbfounded on watching something I
never watched before. A gang of some young boys were splaying a newfangled
kashmiri game that imitated stone pelting. The lads, who were merely 10,
divided the teams into two squads shooting stones at one another.Kids have adapted things that were nowhere in
the list during my childhood.I vividly
remember the names like Aab-e-Bandook, Taas-e-Bandook and Bagwaan
Taas that ruled the roost. But now the young lads are admiring deadly ways
of rejoicing the Eid.

As I started moving on I was further amazed to find more
young kids pelting stones on CRPF bunkers in real only for the sake of Eid fun.
HO! What if they retaliated with a gunshot or even more deadly PSA shot?

Moreover I found people have distanced themselves so
much that they prefer to greet one another on facebook even if the other
person is a next door neighbor. I feel pity for the tech-savvy Kashmiris,
myself included.

Now if I talk of the extravagant bakery and other
palatable stuff, then I am sorry this article won’t fit in the limited space. Writing
this is only a trivial attempt of my meager perceptive. At the end, “You cannot
change the system”, goes the common statement. But I am happy because for me a
great day signed off with great returns and yes, puzzlement. And lastly as I returned
back with a good collection of bounty, a jam-packed tummy and some disappointment,
I laid on my bed, puzzled!!!